This is the first English-language edition of Nicola Acocella's highly successful undergraduate text, originally published in 1994. Aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students, Acocella's emphasis is on the persistence of market failures and the full range of issues connected to public intervention and regulation. Very impressive in its scope, (including welfare economics, social choice, public economics as well as macro- and micro-economic theory and policy), Foundations of Economic Policy is user friendly with a comprehensive index, summaries, key word lists and pathways designed for both rigorous and intuitive study.